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I sent my comments a few days ago but I cannot find a reply so I have to ask again

In your comments you explained the uses of the definite article on the examples of the zoo
I went to the zoo and saw kangaroos, some kangaroos and the kangarooos
My question is sometimes soeaker automatically use the definite article without introducing the referenet
Lyons says that the indefinite article is neutral when it comes to uniquness

For instance I see examples like

a school in our neighbourhood was closed. Once I saw such an example and there was one school in the area when I checked, but the authir introduced the indefinite article instead of the. On the other hand I see autiomatically the introduction of the definite article

the school in our area was closed

or a Starbucks on Downing stree t was closed

we still don’t know if theer i one or one of many

sometimes when we talk about associations we immediately use the definite article. After we start talking about the zoo we talk about the animals. In all suh examples I saw thet when phrases and precedded by the preposition they are definite but in big cities , in big districts

auhtors use the indefinite article or one

the rule is generally when we introduce something for the first time we use the indefinite articlde. This is a passage from a book

I went into the room, looked at a mirror and a bed

but if we start with the words bed immediataly

the bed in the rooom it is possible because it envokes association

so why does the author of the sentence

a church in my area organises trips to… didn’t use the despite the fact that there ws one church?

or two churches in my area are pen between

he could have said all the churches in my area

Once I have read that only when we assume the listener’s knowledge is strong enough we can introduce the, otherwise we should use a unless there is a clear association

I have two questions, requiring enlightment.
“I fell in love with my wife at first sight. ”
Do you feel “at first sight” and “at the first sight” are different?

“I will have lunch with my boss today”
“I will have a lunch with my boss today”
Does the addition of “a” make you feel the sentences are varied?

Thank you in advance.

Another question came to me.
I read a sentence, “each employee is given a handbook on company policy.”
It is a handbook of the specific company, talking about the policy of the specific company.
Why isn’t it written as each employee is give a handbook on “the” company policy.

Good questions! I added both your messages to one comment to make it easier to reply to them.

“At first sight” and “have lunch with someone” are collocations. Collocations are words that go together in a way that sounds natural and correct to a native speaker. In these collocations, no article is used at all.

“I fell in love with my wife at first sight.”
“I am having lunch with my boss today.”

Teache i have examples of “father” used without article. 1. Father is courageous. 2.Father was angry yesterday. 3.father reads the ramayana. 4.father has gone to office today.please tell me why in these sentences father is used without article.and teacher u say that use “the fathe” when we use the structure “the father of” but i have an example of “a father” used in the structure “a father of”.example: Mr. Smith, a father of five. Why it is used in this way?and also tell me that can we use the same rule(as you gave above 3 rules) with the word mother,uncle etc.thanks again teacher.

A. No article:
1. Father is courageous.
2. Father was angry yesterday.
3. Father reads the ramayana.
4. Father has gone to office today
Are these examples from a children’s book or a beginner English book? They sound like the kind of sentences that explain what is happening in a picture. These aren’t sentences that an adult would say.

An adult would say, “My father is courageous.” or “Her father was angry yesterday.”

B. Mr. Smith, a father of five.
This is a description of someone. Using the article ‘a’ is fine here. Mr. Smith could also say,
“I am a father of five.”

C. Yes, you can use all names for family roles this way.
“She is the mother of Mr. Smith’s children.”
“Mrs. Smith is a mother of five.”

1. When you are talking about your own father, or someone’s father, use a pronoun: my father, his father, or her father.

2. Use ‘a father’ when you are just talking about one of something.

3. Use ‘the father’ when you use the structure ‘the father of.’

Here are some example sentences I thought of,
“He’s a father now! He & his wife just had a baby.”
“He became a father when he was 35.”
“Mr. Smith has been like a father to me.”
“Mr. Smith is not the father of Jen’s child.”
“James Naismith is the father of basketball.” (He invented basketball.)
“Who’s the father (of this child)?”

Do you know what? You just saved my life !!! I am doing my prac to teach Spanish. I was looking for this information because I needed to reinforce students knowledge about Spanish articles. As you may know romance languages and english have this n common and you put this info so clear that I need to say thank you !!

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